History_Academix :“History Matters More Than Ever: What the Past Teaches Us About Who We Are”

  Image created using ChatGPT Shadows of Medicine: Reexamining the Tuskegee Syphilis Study David Buie College History Professor | Historian of Reconstruction, Memory & American Conflict | Dual Credit & Higher Education Instructor | Writer | Curriculum developer March 29, 2026 There are moments in American history that refuse to sit quietly in the past. They linger, not just because of what happened, but because of what they reveal about power, race, and the institutions we are taught to trust. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is one of those moments. It is not simply a story about medical malpractice. It is a window into how science, government, and racial ideology intersected in ways that produced long-lasting harm. At its core, the Tuskegee Study, conducted from 1932 to 1972, followed hundreds of African American men in Alabama under the guise of medical care. These men were told they were being treated for “bad blood,” a vague term that masked the reality: researchers were o...

  Wake Island POWs: Courage, Captivity, and Survival in the Pacific War David Buie College History Professor | Historian of Reconstruction, Memory & American Conflict | Dual Credit & Higher Education Instructor | Writer | Curriculum developer March 22, 2026 Approximately 2,000 miles west of Hawaii lie three small islands collectively known as Wake Island. Uninhabited until the 1930s, Wake first gained strategic importance when Pan American Airways established a refueling station for its Pacific flights. By January 1941, civilian contractors began transforming the island into a military base. By December of that year, Wake housed 38 officers, 485 enlisted Marines, and roughly 1,200 civilian workers. Despite these numbers, Wake’s defenses were limited. While the First Marine Defense Battalion possessed anti-aircraft guns and coastal batteries, many were understaffed or lacked sufficient equipment. Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-211 operated just 12 aircraft. Leadership on the is...

  The Reluctant Navy: The History of the United States Navy, 1775–1815, Part III: The War of 1812 and Naval Maturity David Buie College History Professor | Historian of Reconstruction, Memory & American Conflict | Dual Credit & Higher Education Instructor | Writer | Curriculum developer March 15, 2026 In the first installment of this series, we examined the uncertain birth of American sea power during the Revolutionary War, when the Continental Navy struggled to survive amid political hesitation, financial shortages, and fierce British opposition. The second installment traced the navy’s rebirth in the 1790s, when Barbary piracy and the Quasi-War with France forced the young republic to confront the realities of maritime defense. By the early nineteenth century, the United States had constructed a small but capable fleet centered on the powerful Humphreys-designed frigates. Though still modest in size, this navy had begun to develop the professionalism and experience necess...